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Development of a compact double-disk magneto-rheological uid brake

Wei Zhou, Chee-Meng Chew and Geok-Soon Hong

Robotica / Volume 25 / Issue 04 / July 2007, pp 493 - 500

DOI: 10.1017/S0263574707003372, Published online: 12 February 2007

Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0263574707003372

How to cite this article:

Wei Zhou, Chee-Meng Chew and Geok-Soon Hong (2007). Development of a compact double-disk magneto-rheological
uid brake. Robotica, 25, pp 493-500 doi:10.1017/S0263574707003372

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Robotica (2007) volume 25, pp. 493–500. © 2007 Cambridge University Press
doi:10.1017/S0263574707003372 Printed in the United Kingdom
Development of a compact double-disk magneto-rheological
fluid brake
Wei Zhou, Chee-Meng Chew∗ and Geok-Soon Hong
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, 9, Engineering Drive 1,
Singapore 117576, Singapore
(Received in Final Form: January 5, 2007. First published online: February 12, 2007)
SUMMARY
This paper describes the development of a novel compact
magneto-rheological (MR) fluid brake with high transmitted
torque and a simple structure. The MR fluid brake has two
shearing disks with an electromagnetic coil located between
them. Such a structure enables the brake to have a small
radial dimension and a large torque transmission capacity. In
the design process, a Bingham viscoplastic model is used to
predict the transmitted torque. Electromagnetic finite element
analysis (FEA) is performed to assist the magnetic circuit
design and structural parameters’ optimization. The novel
brake design is prototyped and studied. Experimental results
show that a compact MR fluid brake with high transmitted
torque is successfully achieved.
KEYWORDS: Magneto-rheological (MR) fluid brake; High
transmitted torque; Compact size; Bingham viscoplastic model;
Finite element analysis (FEA).
1. Introduction
Magneto-rheological (MR) fluids belong to a class of
intelligent materials, which respond to applied magnetic
field with fast, continuous, and reversible change in their
rheological behavior. MR fluids have attracted extensive
research interest recently because they can provide simple,
quiet, fast-response interface between electronic control
and mechanical system.3 A lot of work has been done
on the MR fluids property investigation, and the modeling
and control of MR fluid brakes.4,12,16,21 A wide range
of MR fluid brakes have also been investigated for their
potential applications in various systems, such as, semiactive
suspension systems, shock absorbers, vibration control,
seismic response reduction, etc.2,7,9,17
MR fluid brakes have also been used in actuators due
to their distinguished force control and power transmission
features.15,18,22 In our previous work, a MR fluid brake was
employed to emulate a viscous damper in our proposed force
control actuator system known as series damper actuator
(SDA).1,14 By applying a proper control effort, virtual
viscous damping with large varying range could be achieved
with the MR fluid brake. The SDA system requires the MR
fluid brake to have a high transmitted torque, be compact in
∗
Corresponding author. E-mail: chewcm@alum.mit.edu
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size, be lightweight, and allow 360◦ rotation, and so on. The
properties of MR fluid brake determine the performance of
the SDA system.
Currently, there are a lot of solutions for MR fluid brake
design. Some MR fluid brakes have been developed and
commercialized with attractive properties, such as high yield
stress and stable behavior.10 Furthermore, there are also a
lot of research works on the design and implementation
issues of MR fluid brake, as well as its counterparts—electro-
rheological (ER) brake. Carlson11 developed a controllable
brake based on MR fluid. A rotary-type MR fluid damper
using valve mode was introduced by Kim.5 Li6 designed and
fabricated a highly efficient MR fluid brake with a simple
structure. Kavlicoglu9 has presented a high-torque MR fluid
clutch design with double plates. A multiple disks ER brake
has been proposed by Papadopoulos in ref. [8].
The objective of this work is to design and develop a
novel MR fluid brake with high transmitted torque, yet
being compact in size and lightweight. In this paper, a
novel MR fluid brake structure with double shearing disks is
presented. The general design procedures for the brake are
also described. FEA simulation was performed to analyze
the magnetic circuit and obtain optimized parameters for a
prototype. The prototype of the proposed MR fluid brake was
fabricated and studied. Experimental results are presented
and discussed at the end of this paper.
2. Structural Design and Analysis of a MR Fluid Brake
2.1. Structure design
The main objective of this design is to achieve high brake
torque for a given size. Most current solutions of MR fluid
brake design are either low in transmitted torque or large in
size. A typical structure of MR fluid brake is as shown in
Fig. 1. It is a single disk type and operates in shear mode.
The electromagnetic coil is located beyond the outer edge
of the shearing disk in the brake. It generates magnetic flux
penetrating the shearing disk and the MR fluid in the gap.
Such configuration often results in a large radial dimension
if high transmitted torque is to be achieved. Table I shows the
specifications of a commercial MR fluid brake, MRB-2107-3
from Lord Corporation.
In Fig. 2, a schematic of our proposed MR fluid brake
structure is shown. To reduce the size of the brake in this
design, we shift the electromagnetic coil closer to the axis
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494 Double-disk magneto-rheological fluid brake

Fig. 1. A typical structure for MR fluid brakes (Lord Corp.).

Table I. The specifications of MRB-2107-3 MR fluid

brake from Lord Corporation.

Maximum output 5.6 Nm

Diameter 92.2 mm
Length 36.6 mm Fig. 3. Rheological and magnetic properties of MR fluid (MRF-
Weight 1410 g 241ES from Lord Corp.). (a) Yield stress versus magnetic field
Maximum input current 1A strength. (b) Magnetic flux density versus magnetic field strength.
Maximum operating speed 1000 rpm

Fig. 4. The direct shear mode of MR fluid devices.

2.2. Bingham viscoplastic model and shear mode torque

Fig. 2. A schematic drawing of proposed MR fluid brake structure.
of rotation and locate it on one side of the shear disk. To
increase the torque transmission capacity, another shear disk
is added on the other side of the electromagnet coil, forming
a symmetrical structure. Such a design fully utilizes the
radial dimension to generate high transmitted torque. The
dashed line represents the magnetic flux path generated by
the electromagnetic coil. There are two active shear zones
for each disk. They are the outer and inner shear zones,
labeled by C1 and C2 , respectively. Since each disk has two
shear surfaces, there are altogether eight shear areas in the
system.
MR fluid has a magnetic field-dependent rheological
property. The magnetic field can dramatically change the
viscosity of the fluid. For example, the rheological and
magnetic properties of a commercial MR fluid (MRF-241ES
from Lord Corp.) are shown in Fig. 3.
The behavior of MR fluid is often represented by Bingham
viscoplastic model.12 The constitutive equation for the model
is as follows:
τ = τy (H )sgn(γ̇ ) + ηγ̇ (1)
where τ is the shear stress, τ y is the field dependent yield
stress of the MR fluid (Fig. 3a), H is the magnetic field
strength, γ̇ is the shear rate, η is the plastic viscosity (i.e.,
viscosity at H = 0). The first part of the RHS of Eq. (1) is the
yield stress produced by the magnetic field and the second
part is the shear stress obtained from the fluid viscosity.
The designed brake is operated in direct shear mode as
shown in Fig. 4. In this operation mode, the shear stress

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Double-disk magneto-rheological fluid brake 495
hence four shear surfaces. That is, the effective torque for
such a brake design is given by 4T.

2.3. Magnetic circuit design

In our design, the electromagnetic coils are located between
the two shear disks. By applying current through the coils,
magnetic flux is generated along a closed path (dash line)
as shown in Fig. 2. The flux penetrates the gaps along the
flux path, and therefore changes the yield stress of the MR
fluid in those gaps. The target of magnetic circuit design is
to determine the magnetic circuit excitation, NI (A · turns),
which can give the desired yield stress (τ y ) of the MR fluid
in the gaps. The general steps for magnetic circuit design are
described as follows.
Step 1. The operation point (Hf , Bf ) of MR fluid
The operation point of MR fluid is defined as the magnetic
Fig. 5. Active shear area on the shearing disk. field strength, Hf , and flux density, Bf , of the MR fluid in
the shear gap, when the desired shear stress is obtained.
developed, τ , is: According to this definition, Hf can be found from the τy − H
curve of the MR fluid (Fig. 3a), given the desired yield stress,
ηωr τ y . Thereafter, the magnetic flux density Bf can be determined
τ = τy sgn(ω) + (2) from B–H curve of the MR fluid (Fig. 3b). Alternatively, if a
g
linear relationship between B and H is approximated for the
where ω is the rotary shear speed, γ is the distance to the material, the flux density can be calculated as:
rotation center, and g is the gap between the two shear
surfaces. B = µ0 µr H (5)
In this brake design as shown in Fig. 2, there are two shear
disks, each having two shear zones (C1 and C2 ). The active where µ0 = 4π × 10−7 T/(A · turns) is the vacuum permeab-
shear area on one disk is shown in Fig. 5, where ω is the ility and µr is the relative permeability of flux path material.
angular velocity of each disk with respect to the structure,
Step 2. The operation point (Hs , Bs ) of steel
dA is the area of the small circular area with radius r and
According to the principle of continuity of magnetic flux
small radial increment dr, and R1 and R2 and R3 and R4 are
and assuming no flux leakage, we have:
inner and outer radii of the two shearing zones C1 and C2 ,
respectively. According to Eq. (2), the generated torque can
s =  f (6)
be written as:


where s are f are the magnetic flux in steel path and fluid
T = rτ dA gap, respectively; and,
C1 +C2
s = Bs As (7)

R2  
ωηr 2 f = Bf Af (8)
= 2π τy r sgn(ω) + r dr
g
R1
where Bs and Bf are the flux density in the steel path and the

R4  2 fluid gap, respectively; As and Af are the cross-sectional area
ωηr
+ 2π τy r sgn(ω) + r dr. (3) of the steel path and the fluid gap, respectively.
g Therefore, the flux density in the steel path Bs can be
R3
expressed as:
Note that the yield stress τ y in the two shear areas, C1 and
C2 , may not be equal. Assume that the yield stresses in C1 Bf Af
Bs = . (9)
and C2 are τ y1 and τ y2 , respectively. Equation (3) can then As
be rewritten as:
Thereafter, the magnetic field strength in the steel path, Hs ,
2      can be found from the B–H curve of the steel material or
T = π τy1 R23 − R13 + τy2 R43 − R33 sgn(ω) from Eq. (5). A typical B–H curve of steel is shown in
3
Fig. 6.
πηω  4   
+ R2 − R14 + R44 − R34 . (4)
2g Step 3. Magnetic circuit excitation, NI (A·turns)
Applying the magnetic circuit principle19 gives:
Equation (4) is the shear torque generated on one surface of
a shear disk. In this design, there are two shearing disks and NI = Hf g + Hs L (10)

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496 Double-disk magneto-rheological fluid brake

Fig. 6. A typical B–H curve of steel.

where N is the number of coil turns, I is the coil current, g is

the gap length, and L is the length of the steel path.
If there are n MR fluid gaps and m steel path sections series
connected in the closed magnetic circuit, then Eq. (10) can
be written as:
Fig. 7. The 2D FEA model of the designed double disks MR fluid

n 
m brake.
NI = Hif gi + Hj s Lj (11)
i=1 j =1

where Hif is the Hf in ith fluid gap and Hjs is the Hs in jth
steel path.
Because the relative permeability (µr in Eq. (5)) of steel is
far larger than that of MR fluid, the magnetic field strength
in steel Hs is usually much lower than that in MR fluid gap
Hf , that is m j =1 Hj s Lj can be neglected and Eq. (11) can be
simplified as follows:


n
NI = Hif gi . (12)
i=1

If all the MR fluid gaps have the same gap length, g, and
magnetic field strength, Hf , this equation can be further
simplified as follows:
NI = nHf g.
These equations enable the designers to estimate the required
magnetic circuit excitation, NI (A·turns), given required
magnetic field strength and flux path dimensions. However,
getting an accurate magnetic circuit design using the method
described earlier is very difficult due to the nonlinear
properties of materials (see Figs. 3 and 6) and some other
nonidealities, such as flux leakage and flux path dimension
uncertainties. Finite element analysis software is used to aid
the optimization process of the magnetic design. The three
steps of the magnetic circuit design described earlier should
be performed before the FEA analysis and optimization.
Although the calculated magnetic circuit excitation, NI, may
not be accurate, it can be used as an initial condition for the
FEA analysis and then adjusted accordingly.
2.4. FEA analysis and design optimization
Electromagnetic finite element analysis is performed in this
work to assist the electromagnetic circuit design and optimize
Fig. 8. An example of the FEA simulation results.
(13)
the brake’s structural parameters. The FEA simulation
software used in this work is the 2D Maxwell from
ANSOFT.13
The FEA 2D model geometry (in the RZ plane of a
cylindrical coordinate system) is shown in Fig. 7. The
model is actually a 3D axisymmetric object. The 2D model
represents a 3D structure that has been revolved around the
axis of symmetry (Z axis). 2D Maxwell analyzes the 2D
geometry as a cross-section of the model and generates a
solution for that cross-section.
An example of the FEA simulation result is shown in Fig. 8.
The magnetic flux (the closed curves) and the gap magnetic
field strength (gray scale) are displayed in the result. The
magnetic path is clearly indicated by the flux lines. Some flux
leakage can be observed. From the simulation result, the mag-
netic field strength in all the eight MR fluid gaps can be ob-
tained. The generated shearing torque can be calculated
according to Eq. (4). The simulation results, therefore, can
be used to evaluate the magnetic circuit design described in

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Double-disk magneto-rheological fluid brake
the previous subsection. The magnetic circuit excitation, NI,
can be adjusted till satisfactory yield stresses in these gaps
are obtained. Furthermore, the FEA analysis results can also
be used to evaluate the brake structural design and optimize
its dimensional parameters.
Although the magnetic strength distribution in the radial
direction of each gap is supposed to be uniform, it is
actually not uniform as indicated in the simulation results.
Estimated average value is reasonable to be used here
to represent the uniform magnetic field strength in each
gap. In the simulation of Fig. 8, the magnetic circuit
excitation, NI, is 103 A · turns, the gap length, g, is 1 mm,
and the magnetic field strength, Hif ’s, in the eight
gaps, according to the simulation result, are estimated to
be: 1.8 × 105 A/m, 1.8 × 105 A/m, 1.6 × 105 A/m, 1.6 ×
105 A/m, 0.8 × 105 A/m, 0.8 × 105 A/m, 0.6 × 105 A/m,
8
0.6 × 105 A/m. That is, i=1 Hif gi = 9.6 × 10 A · turns.
2
It can be seen that the simulation result is quite close to
the theoretical one according to Eq. (12).
Important parameters have also been indicated in Fig. 7,
where
R1 and R2 and R3 and R4 are the inner and outer radii of the
two shearing areas C1 and C2 , respectively;
Lp is the thickness of the side steel path;
Ld is the thickness of the shearing disk;
Lc and Wc are the length and width of the magnetic coil,
respectively;
Win and Wout are the width of the inner and outer steel paths,
respectively; and
g is the MR fluid gap length.
R4 and R1 decide the active shear area of the MR fluid.
To obtain large torque transmission capability, large R4
and small R1 is always preferred. R4 can be determined
according to the maximum permitted brake size, usually,
from the design requirements. R1 can be determined from
the minimum shaft size required from the aspects of
component strength, manufacturing and assembling, and
so on. Satisfying the disk strength and manufacturing
requirements, the thickness of the shearing disk, Ld , should
be as small as possible to reduce the weight and size of the
brake and lower the flux strength loss in the steel path. Lc
and Wc can be determined by considering the wire diameter
and the required number of turns for the magnetic coil.
The selection of the structural parameters, g, Lp , Win , and
Wout , is briefly discussed as follows.
• Gap Length, g
According to Eq. (11), the gap length, g, is known
to significantly affect the magnetic field strength, H. A
simulation result of the relationship between the gap length
and the magnetic field strength in this gap is shown in Fig. 9.
It can be seen that a smaller gap gives a larger magnetic
field strength. Generally, a larger magnetic field strength
will result in a larger yield stress for the MR fluid and,
consequently, generate a larger transmitted torque. If the
MR fluid operation points are given, smaller gap always
means lower value is needed for NI (A · turns). In this sense,
a smaller gap will be better. However, the lower value for the
gap length is limited by the manufacturing considerations
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497
Fig. 9. A simulation result for the gap length, g, versus the magnetic
field strength, H, in this gap.
and assembling errors. Furthermore, the smaller the gap is,
the more sensitive the magnetic field strength, H, is to the gap
length errors (see Fig. 9). Usually, the gap length is between
0.25 and 2 mm for ease of manufacturing and assembly.6,20
In this design, the gap is set to 1 mm.
• Width of inner and outer flux path, Win and Wout
Wout and Win are the radial width of the shear areas C1 and
C2 , respectively. They also represent the width of the outer
and inner flux path, respectively. When R1 , R4 , and Wc are
given, the summation of Win and Wout will be fixed because:
Win + Wout = R4 − R1 − Wc . (14)
Therefore, increasing Win will decrease Wout , and vice versa.
Wout and Win will determine the areas of the two shear
regions C1 and C2 . Larger area of C1 may be preferred since
it is at larger radius than C2 and therefore may result in
higher transmitted torque. However, large Wout will result
in a small shear area for C2 . Furthermore, a small Win may
result in magnetic saturation in the inner steel path. When the
magnetic path is saturated, the path flux density would not
have significant response to the change of magnetic circuit
excitation. Consequently, the magnetic field strength in the
outer MR fluid gaps would be limited to a relatively low
level. The optimal values for Win and Wout , which will result
in large, transmitted torque can be obtained by the use of
FEA simulation.
A simulation result is presented in Fig. 10, which shows
the effect of different values of Win and Wout on the
transmitted brake torque. In this example, Win + Wout =
11 mm according to Eq. (14), where R1 , R4 , and Wc are
given as 9, 30, and 10 mm, respectively. The brake torque is
simulated with (Win , Wout ) varying from (4 mm, 7 mm) to
(10 mm, 1 mm). On the horizontal axis, from left to right,
Win increases from 4 to 10 mm, and Wout , correspondingly,
decreases from 7 to 1 mm. It can be seen in Fig. 10 that, if
Win < 5 mm or Win > 9 mm, the brake’s transmitted torque
T will be relatively low. The brake’s transmitted torque, T,
reaches a maximum value when (Win , Wout ) is around (6 mm,
5 mm) and decreases slowly when Win increases. That is,
(Win , Wout ) = (6 mm, 5 mm) would be optimal in terms of the
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498
Fig. 10. The brake transmitted torque T with different inner flux
path width Win and outer flux path width Wout .
maximum brake’s transmitted torque. However, parameter
sensitivity should also be considered. It can be seen from
Fig. 10 that when Win < 6 mm, the generated torque drops
sharply with the reduction of Win . Therefore, it has large
sensitivity to Win . Whereas, when 6 mm < Win < 7 mm, the
curve is relatively flat and less sensitive to the changes in Win
and Wout . Therefore, (Win , Wout ) is preferred to be between
(6 mm, 5 mm) and (7 mm, 4 mm).
Once Win and Wout are decided, R2 and R3 can be computed
as follows:
R2 = R1 + Win
R3 = R4 − Wout .
• Side steel path thickness, Lp
To reduce the weight and size of the brake, the thickness
of the side steel path, Lp , is desirable to be as small as
possible. However, if the thickness is too small, it will cause
magnetic saturation and consequently reduce the magnetic
field strength in both shear areas, C1 and C2 . Therefore, the
optimal Lp is the smallest value where the magnetic saturation
does not happen.
A simulation study of the particular design example which
shows how the magnetic field strength at shear areas varies
with Lp is shown in Fig. 11. From the study, it is observed
that, when Lp < 1.5 mm, the magnetic field strength in MR
fluid gaps will drop significantly with decreasing Lp . This is
due to the fact that the magnetic saturation starts to happen
in the side steel path. Therefore, to reduce weight and at the
same time avoid magnetic saturation, a value between 1.5 mm
and 2 mm for Lp would be optimal for this particular design
example.
This analysis gives a general description of the brake
design and the parameters’ optimization with the assistance
of FEA analysis. The objective of parameter optimization
is to achieve maximum brake torque with the design
constraints, such as mechanical limitations, magnetic
saturation, and so on. Note that the parameters’ optimizations
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Double-disk magneto-rheological fluid brake
Fig. 11. Magnetic field strength, H, at shear areas, C1 and C2 , versus
the thickness of side steel path, Lp .
(15)
(16) Fig. 12. A cross-sectional view of the MR fluid brake prototype.
are not conducted in sequence. Some design iterations are
needed before the most optimal result can be obtained.
3. Realization of a Prototype and Experimental Setup
A CAD drawing of a prototype of the MR fluid brake is
shown in Fig. 12. There are an input shaft and an output
shaft in the design. The input and the output shafts can rotate
independently. Two shearing disks are connected to the input
shaft. The transmitted brake torque is passed to the output
shaft through the body of the brake. The magnetic coil is
placed between the two shear disks to reduce the radial size.
Double shear disks also result in more shear area than that of a
single one. This design results in a higher torque transmission
capacity of the brake. The key specifications of the MR fluid
brake prototype are shown in Table II.
An experimental setup as shown in Fig. 13 is also built to
test the MR fluid brake prototype. A DC motor is connected
to the input shaft of the MR fluid brake to provide the
input angular velocity. An encoder is attached to the motor
to measure this angular velocity. This will be the shearing
angular velocity if the output shaft is fixed. A torque sensor
is mounted at the output shaft to measure the transmitted
torque. A microcomputer (PC104) is used to control the DC
motor based on the feedback from the encoder; and read and
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Double-disk magneto-rheological fluid brake 499
Table II. The key specifications of the MR fluid brake prototype.

Maximum transmitted torque 3.5 Nm

Mechanical dimension Ø 76 mm × 40 mm
Weight 910 g
Wire diameter Ø 0.315 mm
Maximum input current 0.8 A
Number of turns 700
Shear gap 1 mm
Effective fluid volume 12 ml
MR fluid Water-based MR fluid
(MRF-241ES)
Magnetic material Low carbon steel (AISI-1018)
Nonmagnetic material Aluminum alloy
Sealing O-ring (rubber)

Fig. 14. The transmitted torque of the MR fluid brake prototype

plotted against different current values for brake velocity of 3 and
−3 rad/s.

Fig. 13. A picture of the experimental setup.

Fig. 15. MR fluid brake’s output torque versus velocity for

record the transmitted brake torque from the torque sensor.
A DC power supply is used to provide the input current to
the magnetic coil of the MR fluid brake.
4. Experimental Results and Discussion
Two experiments were conducted for the MR fluid brake
prototype. In the first experiment (Exp 1), the brake velocity
was kept constant and the transmitted torque was measured
with different currents applied to the magnetic coil of
the brake. This experiment was to show the relationship
between the brake’s transmitted torque and input current.
Two velocities (±3 rad/s) were used while the input current
varied from 0 to 0.8 A. The negative velocity was used to
check the asymmetric property of the brake’s transmitted
torque.
The experimental results are shown in Fig. 14. From
Fig. 14, it can be observed that the maximum transmitted
torque is around 3.5 Nm when the applied current is 0.8 A.
The brake has a good linear relationship between the
transmitted torque and the input current, especially when
the current is larger than 0.1 A. The transmitted torque also
behaves rather symmetrically. That is, its magnitude remains
the same if the velocity of the brake changes its sign (from
3 rad/s to −3 rad/s). When there is no current applied to the
sinusoidal velocity (for brake current 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8 A).
brake, the transmitted torque is around 0.55 Nm, which is
about 15.7% of the maximum brake torque. This residual
torque is mainly attributed to several sources. One of which
is the residual shearing torque due to the residual viscosity
of the MR fluid. Another important source is due to the
friction in the sliding contacts in the brake, for example, at
the location where the rubber o-ring used for the MR fluid
sealing is situated. Some of these friction sources can be
reduced by changing the materials. For the case of the o-
ring, as the rubber has relatively large friction coefficient
when rubbed against another material, it may be better to
use another sealing material such as polymer, which has
significantly lower friction coefficient.
In the second experiment (Exp 2), the brake’s current
was kept constant while a sinusoidal brake velocity was
maintained. During the experiment, the transmitted torque
was recorded. This experiment was used to study the
properties of the MR fluid brake prototype, such as the
hysteresis effect, the fluid viscous property, etc.
The sinusoidal brake velocity had an amplitude of 4 rad/s
and a frequency of 0.5 Hz. The applied currents were 0.2,
0.4, 0.6, and 0.8 A. The experimental results are presented
in Fig. 15. The results show the typical hysteresis behavior

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500
of MR fluid brake. The hysteresis region is within ±1 rad/s.
The hysteresis comes from the inherent property of MR fluid
brake. It is also observed that the brake torque, beyond the
hysteresis region, is almost constant and not dependent on
the brake velocity. This means that the viscous component in
the dynamics of the MR fluid brake can be neglected.
5. Conclusion
In this paper, a novel MR fluid brake with double shearing
disks was proposed, designed, and tested. The brake structure
was introduced and Bingham model was used to predict the
brake’s transmitted torque. General steps for the magnetic
circuit design were described. Brake’s structural parameters,
such as the width of the inner and outer flux path, the
thickness of the side steel path, etc., were optimized with
the assistance of FEA analysis simulation. A MR fluid brake
prototype was manufactured and an experimental system was
set up to evaluate the performance of the brake. Experimental
results show that a compact MR fluid brake with high
transmitted torque was successfully developed.
Acknowledgment
This project is funded by the Academic Research Fund of the
National University of Singapore. The authors would like to
thank Sateesh Talasila and Dongri Wu for their contributions
for this project.
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